Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, friends for a night

“The president will address the nation shortly about the Assad regime’s inhuman use of chemical weapons against men, women and children,” Clinton said. “It demands a strong response from the international community, led by the United States. This debate is good for our democracy.”

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“Hillary Clinton’s lifelong commitment and sense of civic duty is admirable and a reminder of the importance of actively participating in our democracy,” Corbett, who faces a tough reelection next year in the Democratic-leaning Keystone State, said in a statement provided by the center. “The Liberty Medal is another defining moment in a lifetime of moments for the former Secretary of State and is justly deserved.”

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D), the vice-chairman of the center’s board, sought to dispel the notion that the Clinton-Bush pairing made for an unusual political ­­sight.

“No political inference to be drawn at all,” Rendell told POLITICO, citing the center’s bipartisan history of board chairmen, including former presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Clinton had signaled she would deliver a bigger policy speech at this event, but people in her circle tried to dial back expectations after an Aug. 21 suspected gassing of Syrian civilians by the Bashar Assad regime set off a more intense debate over U.S. intervention.

“Given the developments in Syria over the last few weeks, plans for a robust policy speech in Philadelphia where she is to receive the Liberty Medal on Tuesday night were put on hold,” a source told POLITICO this week. “It’s simply and obviously not the right time. Furthermore, she is very mindful that she will be speaking only an hour or so before the President addresses the nation.”

Obama was set to address the nation from the White House at 9 p.m. eastern on Tuesday.

Clinton is not addressing speculation about the next presidential race for now. Bush continues to believe that “it is too early to be discussing 2016,” spokeswoman Jaryn Emhof said in an email.

Both pols’ public and political activities have ticked upward in recent days. Clinton spoke to Carlyle Group investors in Washington on Monday before meeting with Obama at the White House and appearing at an event on wildlife conservation. She also took part in a fundraiser for her family’s foundation. Bush is slated to appear at a fundraiser for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli in one week.

Clinton, 65, is considered the most formidable potential Democratic candidate in 2016 — by a wide margin. The Republican bench is stronger, but the 60-year-old Bush’s fundraising power and potential appeal to Hispanic voters are seen as assets.

Both would also carry their share of political baggage — Clinton from her failed 2008 run and her time at State and in the Senate, Bush from his family ties to his brother’s and father’s presidencies.

The most recent poll to test a head-to-head matchup in the 2016 general election, conducted by Monmouth University in July, found Clinton leading Bush 47 to 37.